A week is a long time

​So the (so-called) Baillieu Government in a step backwards scaled back the previous Brumby target for carbon reduction in the state from 20% by 2020 to 5%.  At the same time I was pointed at a piece in The Conversation by our friend Janet Clarke Bell by a scientist she met which should be required reading by anyone in a decision making place.

"CLEARING UP THE CLIMATE DEBATE: CSIRO’s James Risbey explains why it’s not “alarmist” to describe the threat of climate change to the public and how the climate system will respond to half measures.

With many issues to be considered in setting a climate policy one can end up wondering what the role of climate science is in all this.

After all, climate science doesn’t tell us what to do. It doesn’t tell us whether to have a carbon price or where it should be set. Those decisions ultimately involve a range of normative and deliberative issues which are beyond the scope of climatology."
Read it here and weep. The tipping point is at hand.

On the positive side Beyond Zero Emissions, a network of scientists fanning out around the globe from Melbourne University have put together a fully costed transition to renewables budget, timetable, and discussion of options that is downloadable either as a summary or a complete report.  No prizes for guessing who won't read or download it.  Canutes will drown too!